Nobody knows these cars Options

[bottomend]

The BEST thing you could do is start learning about the mechanicals yourself. Otherwise this WILL continue. There are good places that specialize in Air cooled stuff but it doesn't sound like you can afford it. You'll beable to do 100x better work than the monkeys who have 'worked' on the car thus far.

Most of us have been through this stage. Hint; the next stage is buying parts off of ebay. Think LONG and HARD before doing that. It's a jungle....

[Andyrew]

Stop taking it to import shops.. they specialize in taking your money...

You need to take it to a vw shop. OR better yet, do it yourself.

Are you sure its not just the valves needing adjustment?

I wish I was young and had time to spend a day and look at it.. but then again, its been years since I touched a T4... and I gave up on mine (lol)

I'm not really sure what it is. First they adjusted the valves to solid specs and when I insisted they were hydros they adjusted them to hyd. specs. I'm not sure when they did the compression tests.

Do you know of any VW shops?

One on mchenry.. bout mid way.. Small place, by the elk club..

Thats about all I know of.. Contact Scott Carlsburg... he's on this list, and he is not mechanically inclined.. but has a good running teener... Ask him were he gets his fixed at..

[Hammy]

Scott(SGB), thanks for the info. I'll look into what you've pointed out when I get the car back.

Andrew, I was thinking the Parts House too. I have gotten some blank stares from there though when I mention 914's, but I'll ask some more.

[Jake Raby]

Like I said.. Find a local VW club, attend some meetings and see if anyone wants to work on your car..

Most amateurs are better than professional shops these days!

I give this advice to many of my complete engine customers and engine kit purchasers and they have great results 99% of the time. The reason is because the enthusiast does the work because they love it and WANT to do it, to most shops a VW is like a foreign object that drains capital from them, so they don't give a damn about you or the car...

[dmenche914]

if youdon't have the time, tools, or experience to do it your self, seek help from an aircooled shop, oro friends. the 914 engien is close tot eh Bug motor, so a good Bug shop should be able to take care of you failing other options.

our cars are a bit unique, an possibly older than many of the mechanics. other than high end Porsches,(read expensive speciality repair shops for 911 cars) our 914's were just about the end of the line of aircooled vehicles. so expertese needs to be found,a nd it aint easy, standard generic shod or modern water cooled VW shops are probably not going to undersand the aircooled motor,a dn high end 911 shops,t hat do understand aircooled, will be too pricey, henc ethe Buggy shops. I encourage you to read up on you engine, and ask on this site, and other web sites, if you dont have the time or space to work on the enigne, then you neeed the money to have someone else that know them do it.

good luck!!!